2006/08/11

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma - 2 albums

yes, both of these albums are in print. and no, you are right, I don't give much in terms of a damn. the reason is that these belong in the category of things that are so amazing that everyone should have access to it, regardless of pedestrian monetary concerns.

this might sound super naive... but seriously. forgive my lapse into childish reverie: It's hard to believe that there can be so much selfishness, greed and cruelty in the world when such exquisite beauty is possible. when knowing that members of our species, humans just like you or me or Dick Cheney, are capable of reaching such elevated states of loveliness, why would anyone choose to exist in any other way? how can anyone do anything other than strive for the kind of bliss and ecstasy glimpsed in art such as this? much less choose to be hurtful, deceitful and heartless.

I realize that the above is an extremely simplistic train of thought, and a one dimensional logic which fails to take into account so many other dimensions of reality... but it is early Saturday morning and I haven't yet gone to sleep, indulge me.

the first of these is solo santoor and the other with master tabla player Zakir Hussain.

I'm not going to try to describe or say anything else about the music.

here are some good links which will satisfy curiosities and answer some questions for the uninitiated:

I saw Shivkumar Sharma play in Benares several years ago. It was part of a musical festival that was part of the Shivatri celebrations and needless to say it was an exquisite evening. The music would go all night long and there was magic in the air.

well, seeing as how i'd never heard of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma before, it's doubtful that without this post he would've seen any of my money anyway.

now, perhaps if i see a record or concert tickets for sale, i will buy them. or maybe after listening to these albums i will be less inclined to throttle the next bozo that says something idiotic to me -- i reckon that pays out some karma points to Shivkumar Sharma.

besides, i've spent $10,000's on independent music over the years and now i want some free shit.

consider that the distribution of this music to a wider audience enhances the world at large. aside from the cosmic good it's doing, the more good music is played, the less room there is for bad music, people's tastes will be improved, and in turn the more demand there will be for more good music, such as that of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

after all, these mp3s aren't the latest stylings of black eyed peabrains or ashlee scrotum. although, in that case you could argue that you're distributing the music at its intrinsic value (zero), so there's no larceny anyway.

now, if i wasn't able to find and buy certain music (due to ignorance, location, timing, or sheer laziness), am i then not entitled to listen to it?

one might also consider the club dj model: much electronic music is purchased by djs who play them at a venue for a large audience that enjoys it but will often never even know who the artist is, much less buy the record themselves. the artist doesn't receive any royalties when their records are played. i don't see any artists complaining (well, maybe metallica's lars ulrich would) about this system -- most hope their record will play for the largest audience possible, and maybe often enough that people will begin to recognize it and eventually know the artist.

and let's not discount the benefit to Pandit Shivkumar Sharma himself. if i were ever to run into the man, now i would be happy to buy him a cup of tea and a sandwich for his efforts, my donation to apple/dell/rapidshare notwithstanding. whereas before, i would have thought, who the fuck are you and why should i buy you a sandwich?

at the end of the day, though, you're right -- i don't really care -- but i care about other things so it balances out and i think my karma is secure. the rest of you, watch out.